with millions of videos about israel and judaism on youtube, jerusalem u was determined to make their channel the go-to destination for young people searching for answers. the way to do this, we discovered, was to change the way we talk to them. instead of trying to ‘explain’ and ‘simplify’ complex issues, we decided to ‘unpack’ them into bite-size videos and let our audience form their own opinions. brand identity by firma

sivan innovation

you’ve created a product that can help millions of cancer patients in remission - but doctors aren’t listening. mmm… digging deeper, we realised that the standard patient follow-up left oncologists frustrated because they discovered problems too late. so we shifted the focus of the message from the product to a universal truth all doctors could agree on: ‘it’s never too early to detect relapse’

exigent

this investment manager had an enviable track record but struggled to explain to prospects what made them different. we found the answer, not in what they do, but in their ability to discover opportunities in places no one else is looking. so we changed the conversation from financial services to curiosity and discovery - and immediately hit a chord with the sophisticated, adventurously-minded clients the firm was seeking.

glide

how do you propel a little known startup from jerusalem onto center stage at the world’s most prestigious startup competition, two weeks after the admission deadline? we bet the bank on winning the audience choice award, and won 98% of the vote with an election-style guerrilla campaign fronted by a beat-boxing robot chick.

OTRIVIN

squirting salt water up your nose isn’t fun, but everyone loves the smell of sea air and knows it’s good for you. thus was born the launch campaign for otrivin’s new saline nasal spray - ‘let the sea air help you breath’

GOOGLE DIGITAL GARAGE

google needed to spice up 100 tutorials for their ‘digital garage’ marketing training program across europe - so we added fun animation to the parts that needed it. the program is now expanding to africa and asia and has reached hundreds of millions of small business owners. art direction: lilian darmono production: house of greenland

JOOLE

a sex toy kit for boutique hotel room minibars? why not! name, logo, and packaging for this little jewel of a brand.

TAPI

teva’s active product ingredient subsidiary prides itself on being the global leader in their field. they came to us asking for a better deck and double-sided flyer, and ended up with a new brand strategy (‘partnership’) and creative message (‘tapi & you’) - which has served the company for 7+ years and still going strong.

YELLOW SUBMARINE

a rock club needs to feel like a rock club, even on an ad or a poster or a flyer. it also needs to let music fans know who’s playing, and when - as they zip by the billboard on their way to wherever. this is what we did here.

TAVAS

not your average cleaning company, tavas needed a presence to convey the fairness they show employees and customers alike. the strategy: clean - fair, transparent, nothing to hide. the creative: branding that projects a corporate image unseen in the commercial cleaning market, and a print ad campaign playing off the ‘dirt’ appearing in the headlines.

DITRON DENTAL

a titanium manufacturer working with heavy industries decided to use their expertise to break into the dental implant market. turns out that among their clients were bmw, for whom they manufacture high-end precision parts. and so a brand strategy was born: precision. and a tagline ‘precisely’, and an identity to go with it.

9/11 REMEMBERED

this poster was designed following the events of 9/11, and went on to win the first cannes dove, awarded by the international red cross at the 2001 cannes advertising festival.

BUBBLE

teens and the arts? not an easy mix. so we devised a campaign that looked as if graffiti had been tagged over billboards and posters, calling the target group to teen-only parties with dj’s, free food, and a live (art -shh!) performance. they fell for it in droves.

TOLOTO 69

based on an algorithm devised by a mathematician who beat the system and won the lottery (twice!) - these guys offered punters a better chance to win for a monthly fee of 70 nis. our idea? make it 69 nis, call it ‘Toloto 69’, and have people of all ages talk about why they do it all the time and love it so much.

EXTAL

one insight can change everything. when this manufacturer realised that it was the architect, and not the contractor, who was the primary decision maker in choosing aluminum systems for their buildings, our mission was clear: get architects excited about our windows and doors.

TAPI

teva’s active product ingredient subsidiary prides itself on being the global leader in their field. they came to us asking for a better deck and double-sided flyer, and ended up with a new brand strategy (‘partnership’) and creative message (‘tapi & you’) - which has served the company for 7+ years and still going strong.

TEVA

25 years after dan reisinger designed the original logo, teva’s visual identity was in shambles, with every business unit across the globe doing whatever they wanted. we created a style guide to answer the needs of a modern corporate giant, maintaining consistency across continents, cultures and languages, while allowing for creative interpretation by local design teams.

MAKOM

an architecture firm with a distinct, pristine style, pedantic and proud of their work and its impact. the combination of a fingerprint and topography speaks of the mark they leave.

OLO

name and logo for a breakthrough blood testing device, part of a rebrand for bio-med startup sight diagnostics. ‘sight’ and ‘olo’ are a phonetic reference to cytology, the company’s field of expertise, with the anthropomorphic logotype designed to put patients at ease. industrial design by dan ram. rendering & animation by omer katzir.

RASHI FOUNDATION

a comprehensive rebranding, encompassing the foundation itself and its subsidiary programs and projects. to do this we dived deep into the inner workings of this philanthropic giant to uncover their essence: a strategic hothouse elevating israeli society through better education in the country’s periphery.

ZIKARON BASALON

activist wunderkind adi altschuler’s project aimed at restoring meaning to yom ha’shoa, which had become stale with ceremony and routine. intimate gatherings were held at people’s homes to hear survivors’ first person accounts. it’s become a nationwide phenomenon, with over half a million households hosting alternative events in 2017.

LEGACY

avoiding the symbols used by most exclusive residential projects in jerusalem targeting overseas buyers (david’s whatever, something of gold, a lion), we went for a name and visual identity that resonated with this staunchly zionist target audience’s deep emotional connection to the city while promising the luxury these folk had grown to expect.

INTEL

intel take worker safety seriously, but employees find cheeky workarounds, like wearing safety goggles on their heads (the rules say ‘goggles must be on your head at all times’). so we launched a global campaign called ‘safe makes life simple’, addressing eye protection, handrails, driver safety, and more - resulting in a 23% decrease in personal injuries that year.

SIFTECH

a billionaire investor scribbles down his number and hands it to a student. a behavioural economist delivers a spellbinding lecture from a beanbag. to differentiate jerusalem’s first startup accelerator from similar programs at home and abroad, we celebrated the unique ‘yerushalmi’ (jerusalemite) character of the people - talented, humble, down-to-earth.

PICO PARTNERS

we needed a raison d’etre for a new israel-based vc fund that went beyond just making money. inspired by the greatest startup story of all time - the establishment of the state of israel - we were moved by the vision and determination of the early zionist pioneers. from here, we arrived at a 1-line credo: ‘We invest in entrepreneurs as agents of progress’

JLM jazz festival

the stone alleyways that wind their way down to jerusalem’s kikar hachatulot (‘cat square’) inspired the visual identity for the renowned jazz festival held yearly in the capital.

cotendo

this hitech company provided a content delivery network that let users worldwide share a given bandwidth across time zones. the visual concept chosen to express this sharing is the physical model of tensegrity, in which metal tubes are held in place by cables, suspended next to each other without touching. the company was later purchased by akamai for $268m.

Jacko Kaneti

local market stand turned uppity delicatessen chain in dire need of a new identity to reflect their upward mobility. they got it for too little money, and as good branding will do, it’s still fresh and tasty 10 years on. illustration by the great simon oxley, who also created twitter’s logo.

Resec

when asked to create a visual language for a fiendishly smart cyber security startup, we found the answer in the founders themselves. the 3d isometric style we developed alludes to the team’s deep understanding of the anatomy of data files. designer: omer katzir

Ariel

‘there’s always a stain waiting to happen’ was the advertising idea behind this award-winning print campaign for Ariel detergent.

TRIP

trip was a small-town soft drink, up against three veteran brands with stacks of cash to spend on big flashy ads. we went the other way with a down-to-earth strategy that said “hey, it’s just a drink”. a series of short tv ads, featuring an up-and-coming comedian, outperformed campaigns from coca-cola at 1/10th of the budget.

sparks

name and visual identity for a program held at mishkenot sha’ananim in which prominent scientists and artists were paired to discuss subjects ranging from television to god.

termokir

this kibbutz based factory produces construction materials, but has a strong commitment to the environment. this is what makes termokir a leader in the industry. so instead of just saying ‘green’, we decided to talk about ‘being advanced’. the strategy was backed by a total brand rehaul, from packaging and show booths to films and ad campaigns.

KKL H2010

name and logo for a global water management conference held in 2010 and hosted by kkl, a world leader on the subject.

Surgimate

rebranding, website, marketing strategy, and communications for a surgical scheduling software company. the new identity was a playful take on the paper calendars and highlighters still used at surgical practices today. brand identity by render. design and animation by omer katzir.

Modli

this startup thumbed their nose at the fashion world by challenging common perceptions of modesty and femininity. by ‘undressing modesty’, we helped reposition modli from an online store targeting orthodox jewish women to a clothing brand for fashionisti the world over.

PERES CENTER FOR PEACE

'would you hurt someone who has your blood running through their veins?' this was the idea behind a groundbreaking campaign to bring bereaved israelis and palestinians closer together through mutual blood donation.

GOVERNMENT OF KOSOVO

repositioning kosovo from war zone to symbol of hope, shortly after the end of a bloody civil war - what a brief! eschewing formulaic tourism & foreign investment campaign templates, we seized upon the fact that kosovo has the youngest population in europe, framing the nation through the spirit and optimism of its youth. ‘kosovo the young europeans’

AMERICAN EXPRESS

how do you get millions of dollars’ worth of media exposure to launch a credit card for young professionals without paying a dime? team up with a leading artist (ivri leader) to produce a subtly branded music video you hope will be broadcast (it was!) around the clock on israel’s leading music video channel.

AHAVA

moved by the sense of rebirth one experiences emerging from the dead sea, we traveled to the lowest point on earth to find the new brand idea for israel’s premier mineral cosmetics brand - ‘my skin reborn’

Source Sandals

an animated online game challenged users to race against the clock, combing their way through gritty city scenes to find a pair of source sandals. when found, the city opened into the countryside, ending in the tagline ‘back to nature’. the game bagged 600k players in 72 hours.

TAPI

teva’s active product ingredient subsidiary prides itself on being the global leader in their field. they came to us asking for a better deck and double-sided flyer, and ended up with a new brand strategy (‘partnership’) and creative message (‘tapi & you’) - which has served the company for 7+ years and still going strong.

TEVA

25 years after dan reisinger designed the original logo, teva’s visual identity was in shambles, with every business unit across the globe doing whatever they wanted. we created a style guide to answer the needs of a modern corporate giant, maintaining consistency across continents, cultures and languages, while allowing for creative interpretation by local design teams.

to stand out in the market, you first need to stand out in the mind.a great looking logo, presentation, or website might turn heads, but if you want to change the way people think about you, you need to plant a new idea in their minds. an idea that radically reframes who you are and what you do. the idea that changes everything.

guy gordon

dublin born, london educated, lives in jerusalem. left software
for advertising when he saw jonathan glazer's 'surfer' ad for guinness.
rose to senior planner at saatchi & saatchi israel, where he created global campaigns
for brands, governments and non-profits. awards include five golds at cannes lions,
and public endorsement from clinton and blair for work on the rebranding of kosovo.
since his emancipation, has focused his attention on israeli startups, mentoring and working with founders to woo investors and customers.

< Guy Gordon

Ariel Kotzer >

ariel kotzer

born to a brasilian mom and a mexican dad, bred in jerusalem, são paulo and new york. educated at pratt, schooled at pentagram.
slaved at big ad agencies for too long, rising to executive creative director for tbwa\digital in tel aviv. among numerous prizes, won first ever dove award at cannes creative festival for a poster marking the 9/11 attacks.
since going solo, has helped the likes of google, intel and teva pharmaceuticals communicate their messages in clear, concise and captivating campaigns.

guy gordon

dublin born, london educated, lives in jerusalem. left software
for advertising when he saw jonathan glazer's 'surfer' ad for guinness.
rose to senior planner at saatchi & saatchi israel, where he created global campaigns
for brands, governments and non-profits. awards include five gold cannes lions,
and public endorsement from clinton and blair for work on the rebranding of kosovo.
since his emancipation, has focused his attention on israeli startups, mentoring and working with founders to woo investors and customers.

>

ariel kotzer

born to a brasilian mom and a mexican dad, bred in jerusalem, são paulo and new york. educated at pratt, schooled at pentagram.
slaved at big ad agencies for too long, rising to executive creative director for tbwa\digital in tel aviv. among numerous prizes, won first ever dove award at cannes creative festival for a poster marking the 9/11 attacks.
since going solo, has helped the likes of google, intel and teva pharmaceuticals communicate their messages in clear, concise and captivating campaigns.